$1b boost for State Budget
The State Budget is improving faster than expected, with the deficit on track to be hundreds of millions of dollars lower because of bigger payouts from government enterprises and a slowdown in spending. The West
Australia’s effective tax rate ‘rising’
The effective tax rate paid by companies operating in Australia has surged from the fifth lowest in the Group of 20 nations to 12th, over the past 15 years, highlighting the declining competitiveness of the tax system. The Fin
Minister readies to dump City of Perth
The chaotic City of Perth is on the brink of suspension after Local Government Minister David Templeman was forced to end the “untenable situation”. The West
Cold war: China’s freeze on ties
China is putting Australia into a diplomatic deep freeze, stalling on ministerial visits, deferring a trip by our top diplomat and putting off a broad range of lower-level exchanges to pressure Malcolm Turnbull over the new foreign interference laws and naval challenges to disputed Chinese claims in the South China Sea. The Aus
Sex claims rock big four
CEOs of Ernst & Young, KPMG forced to remind partners, staff to behave after harassment allegations. The Fin
Faster 5G mobile risk to NBN
More than one million more households will choose 5G mobile broadband over a National Broadband Network connection after it arrives next year, according to Telstra chief executive Andy Penn, in the latest blow to the $49 billion NBN project. The West
Vale challenges Rio and BHP on China sales
Australian iron ore exporters’ geographic advantage over South American rivals has been largely eroded by China’s growing preference for higher grade iron ore, according to the big Brazilian miner that stands to benefit most from the trend. The Fin
Coalition unveils US gas alliance
Australia has struck a regional energy alliance with the US to spur development of more LNG import infrastructure in South Asia and Southeast Asia and boost demand for billions of dollars of Australian and US LNG exports. The Aus
Cloud on Austal navy bounty
Senior navy officials warn WA shipbuilder Austal may still miss out of part of a $3.6 billion contract to build offshore patrol boats, despite the Federal Government inserting the company into the bid at the last moment. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: CEOs of Ernst & Young, KPMG forced to remind partners, staff to behave after harassment allegations.
The effective tax rate paid by companies operating in Australia has surged from the fifth lowest in the Group of 20 nations to 12th, over the past 15 years, highlighting the declining competitiveness of the tax system.
Page 3: Armed with strong backing from the Chinese government and a huge, digital-savvy market at home, companies such as Alibaba and Tencent are catching up with – and in some cases overtaking – their US rivals, according to Jonathan Woetzel, director of the McKinsey Global Institute.
Page 7: Motoring groups have welcomed the federal government’s moves to order a compulsory recall of more than 2 million cars fitted with deadly airbags, escalating a voluntary recall after one death and one serious injury in Australia.
Page 8: More than 60 of the country’s richest families and foundations have warned the Coalition’s crackdown on foreign political donations would jeopardise community advocacy by wrongly classing them as political actors.
Page 12: There should be more incentives, such as tax cuts, to high-growth companies to boost the investment in research and development, according to the chief executive of Data61, pointing out that Amazon spent more on digital R&D than all Australian companies combined.
Page 16: Growth in China’s manufacturing sector in February cooled to the weakest in more than 1 1/2 years, raising concerns of a sharper-than-expected slowdown in the world’s second biggest economy this year as regulators tighten the screws on financial risks.
Page 19: Harvey Norman has blamed a slump in profits from its Australian franchise operations on investments in e-commerce and IT systems so it can be ‘‘fighting fit’’ and fend off Amazon and JB HiFi.
Page 22: The boss of Australia’s largest private hospital operator, Ramsay Health Care, has blasted opposition leader Bill Shorten’s proposed cap on health insurance premiums, arguing it could force hospitals to cut wage bills.
Canadian gambling giant The Stars Group is likely to use its $150 million purchase of a 62 per cent stake in corporate bookmaker CrownBet to push for online poker games to be legalised in Australia.
Page 25: Australian iron ore exporters’ geographic advantage over South American rivals has been largely eroded by China’s growing preference for higher grade iron ore, according to the big Brazilian miner that stands to benefit most from the trend.
Page 26: Lithium aspirant Pilbara Minerals appears to have found a buyer for all of its forseeable production after striking a major offtake and share subscription agreement with Korean steel giant POSCO.
The Australian
Page 1: China is putting Australia into a diplomatic deep freeze, stalling on ministerial visits, deferring a trip by our top diplomat and putting off a broad range of lower-level exchanges to pressure Malcolm Turnbull over the new foreign interference laws and naval challenges to disputed Chinese claims in the South China Sea.
Bill Shorten accepted a $17,000 private green-funded tour of the Great Barrier Reef and charter flight over the Adani coalmine, during which he pledged to environmentalists that a Labor government would seek to use federal laws to revoke the licence of the Indian mining giant.
Page 3: Australia’s largest health fund, Bupa, has advised more than a third of its members that the restricted cover they have for a series of costly medical services will be removed altogether amid concerns over unexpected gap fees.
Page 4: Surging energy demand in India will ensure a market for Australian coal “for the foreseeable future” despite attempts by the Indian government to reduce reliance on coal imports, the World Coal Association says.
Page 5: Treasury secretary John Fraser has strongly backed the government’s company tax cuts, saying Australia’s competitiveness would be damaged if they were not passed, while senior Treasury staffs deny they would represent windfall gains to foreign investors.
Page 7: Federal Labor will end the Turnbull government’s freeze on university course funding and commit to the demand-driven funding system that allows universities to get subsidies for an unlimited number of bachelor degree students.
Page 17: Australia has struck a regional energy alliance with the US to spur development of more LNG import infrastructure in South Asia and Southeast Asia and boost demand for billions of dollars of Australian and US LNG exports.
Page 21: Former New Zealand prime minister John Key has joined ANZ’s board as he settles into postpolitical life as a professional company director.
Revenue lost through a gigantic rort of the GST system by gold traders has soared to as much as $1 billion, a Senate committee has been told.
The West Australian
Page 1: The State Budget is improving faster than expected, with the deficit on track to be hundreds of millions of dollars lower because of bigger payouts from government enterprises and a slowdown in spending.
Page 3: The chaotic City of Perth is on the brink of suspension after Local Government Minister David Templeman was forced to end the “untenable situation”.
Page 13: Well-meaning Australian tourists will be warned against travelling to South-East Asia to work with “fake orphans”, with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop launching a crackdown on “voluntourism” today.
Page 14: More than one million more households will choose 5G mobile broadband over a National Broadband Network connection after it arrives next year, according to Telstra chief executive Andy Penn, in the latest blow to the $49 billion NBN project.
Business: Senior navy officials warn WA shipbuilder Austal may still miss out of part of a $3.6 billion contract to build offshore patrol boats, despite the Federal Government inserting the company into the bid at the last moment.
Pilbara Minerals boss Ken Brinsden has taken a veiled swipe at analysts predicting a looming glut and plummeting prices in the lithium market, saying they were missing key signals from North Asia.
Virgin Australia is moving to buy out tens of thousands of individual shareholders who have unmarketable holdings, despite declaring it has “no current intention” to quit the stock exchange.
The bloodless coup at Kin Mining is complete after the company’s technical director David Sproule followed former managing director Don Harper out the door.